MOULTRIE – Lowndes High basketball celebrated a doubleheader sweep at William Bryant Court Friday; these were wins the Viking program didn’t necessarily need. In fact, a pair one- to four-point losses to Colquitt County High on this occasion would send the Valdosta visitors home in a happy state of mind.

Thus were the thresholds the Packer side of the gym was facing going into Friday’s final Region 1-7A regular season action. By losing the first meetings with Lowndes on the road Jan. 23, Colquitt County needed wins by larger margins (six for the girls and eight for the boys) in order to own the first tiebreaker edge after head-to-head.

In the boys game, coach Andy Harden had his Packers playing for a tie down by two points with two seconds remaining. A 3-pointer for the win would not change how things were in the standings when the game began. That 2-point attempt did not fall, and so Lowndes won 79-77 to sweep the Packers and clinch second-place. Colquitt County stayed in third place and will play fourth-place Camden County Tuesday to start this week’s 1-7A tournament at Tift County.

The Lady Packers of coach Rondesha Williams were looking to claim the No. 1 seed and had a 10-point halftime lead. Even though Lowndes’ girls erased most of that in the third quarter, Colquitt still was in front and built a seven-point advantage twice in the fourth period. The Vikettes not only narrowed the gap again, but surged ahead. Despite a 3-pointer that did go through at the buzzer, Lowndes won the 1-7A crown outright 53-51.

That will mean a chance to sit out until the final day (Friday) of the region tournament while Thursday Colquitt County – at No. 2 – will play the winner of Tift-Camden for the other spot in the championship game.

BOYS WRAPUP

Colquitt County senior guard Cam Singletary had 21 points Friday to share high-scoring honors with 6-8 Lowndes senior center Andrew Johnson. Singletary had much more help on the offensive side than from the previous weekend’s loss at Tift County. Nizarre Thompson scored 14 points off the bench vs. Lowndes, forward Quentin Dopson returned from injury and had 12 points in reserve, and starter Jarvis Christopher was the fourth Packer in double figures with 11.

Lowndes was as hot as could possibly be shooting the basketball in the first half, and in addition to Johnson’s output senior Will Fernandez netted 20 points as a guard. One more Viking senior, Kevin Adams, scored 14 points.

It was the 3-pointer and the short jumper that fell one after another for Lowndes to the tune of 21 points in the first quarter. The visitors led throughout the period, though Christopher scored five points and Singletary – in addition to connecting from 3 – assisted 2 for starting forward Marcus Anderson. When Thompson came off the bench, his first main contribution was in blocking a shot. Dopson got into the offensive flow with a three-point play assisted by Christopher.

Leading 21-15 after one, Lowndes went up as much as 11 in the second as Fernandez took the ball away on a Packer break and sprinted with it to the other end. Colquitt responded knocking down a pair of 3s, one by Thompson on the offensive board by Jy Andrews.

Lowndes’ ensuing 8-0 run made for the biggest lead of the game, 37-23, and there was a lull in the action as the Vikings’ shooting finally cooled off. They also weren’t as efficient from the line – 8-for-15 in the first half. Colquitt County took advantage with an 11-0 run, and at 1:36 to go Andrews hit his first from 3-point land. That shaved the margin down to five, and following a Viking giveaway Singletary rattled one through from a corner.

To close the half, the Viking defense blocked the final Packer attempt at 3 and managed to stay in front at the break 40-36.

Singletary and Andrews, early in the third quarter, gave Colquitt County 3-point makes, but Lowndes found a way to respond. The home team got as close as two, 44-42, but saw the Vikings streak out to eight in a row. Fouls were building up on the Packers, and this latest run was capped off by an uncontested drive for 52-42.

But like other times of the game, Lowndes’ shooting hit a wall with this big lead, opening the door for Colquitt’s string of seven straight. Christoper and Dopson – taking on Johnson inside – brought their team within three, but that’s as close as they would get in the period. Thompson sunk 3 with the clock under a minute, but it was Fernandez with the final say from long range making the score 64-58 with eight minutes remaining.

As the Vikings, though, were bitten by turnovers (four) to start the quarter, Thompson scored five in a row with help from a steal. The Packers saw that it was a new game tied up at 64-all, but Fernandez’ 3 and Johnson’s stick-back brought forth the need for another Colquitt comeback. Lowndes attempted to milk the clock down, and it would get eight points from the foul line.

When the Packers penetrated the zone, they did not score and fell behind 75-71. But with 35 seconds left, Dopson was fouled scoring on a rebound. The Vikings countered their own giveaways with clutch foul shooting and was ahead 79-74 when Singletary hit his final 3 and the Packers stole one last shot at the 2-second mark.

GIRLS WRAPUP

Diamond Hall, Lady Packer senior, gave a monstrous performance on her home court with 32 points. Lowndes’ Jamesha Samuel, who had 27 in the victory against Colquitt on her floor the first time, led the Vikettes with 19. The spark for the visiting team was junior point guard Tiffany Smith, who scored seven points and added at least seven assists.

No matter what kind of lead Williams’ club could build, there was Smith doing things to get Lowndes back even – or eventually ahead. It started from the onset with Colquitt’s 6-2 advantage (four by Hall). At 2:35, Smith found Samuel for a second-chance tying 3, then Smith’s steal led to a break and second-chance tiebreaker.

With momentum on the Lowndes side, there were a pair of traveling calls countered by throwaways from the Colquitt side. Tim’mya Sanders, off Williams’ bench, stole the basketball with 10 seconds to play. Hall dribbled up against Smith’s defense and banked in 3 to take back the advantage, 11-10, after one.

When Lowndes’ transition game warmed up in the second for six in a row in two minutes, Hall received a pair of fine passes from backup Janiah Ellis for four straight. Hall followed with some nifty behind-the-back dribbling and took another lead back at 17-16. The lead changed hands four times total in the second quarter, but the final was from Ellis’ third assist, a penetration drop off to Hall.

It was Hall’s seven points afterwards plus 3 out of Za’Nautica Downs’ hands that pushed Colquitt up to the 10-point halftime lead, 29-19. As strong as Ellis’ play was, she got her third foul at 2:34.

Up by 12 early in the second half, Colquitt had to watch out for Lowndes’ runs just to get within six or lower. Williams wanted them to take their time with the ball outside, and Lowndes did what it could to prevent it.

With Smith throwing long lead passes for quick baskets, Lowndes had a 9-0 run. Hall stopped that with an assist to Kiarra Lovett. When it was a two-point game, 35-33, Hall made a second assist to Tionna Hunt.

Smith stole the basketball up top, and Lowndes used it to get again within two, 38-36, going into the fourth.

With Hall’s extra-long 3-pointer, Colquitt led by seven, 43-36, at 6:25. When Downs found an open Eriyona Stokes, it was 45-38.

But like that, a region-winning lead was gone on a 7-0 run with two Lady Packer turnovers. With the score tied 47-all, the Vikettes had a 6-1 deciding run with Smith’s fast-break assist at 52 seconds to go.